It seems as though my updates are seasonal these days, offering super long recaps of life as one part of the year closes and another begins.

Lots has happened since I last wrote.

In fact, this should be a two volume post, but it won’t be.

Just pretend it is and take a break from reading and come back later to finish it. 😊

But don’t forget to come back!

I began writing this on the way to Dallas for OU-Texas weekend, a longtime tradition in the B-Love house and one of our favorite yearly football trips.

We always have a very strict tradition for how this trip unfolds, especially on Friday:

-Drop dogs off at the kennel
-Leave for Dallas as early as possible
-Stop in Marietta for a free Bevo Burger at the Bevo Bash (Bevo is the Longhorn mascot, incase you’re wondering)
-Arrive in Dallas as early as possible
-Nap (well mostly Will since he does the driving, I usually end up working a little)
-Enjoy a nice dinner at Ruth’s Chris

Only, this year we’ve completely turned everything on it’s head. I’m a creature of habit and always enjoy looking forward to the repetitiveness of this trip, but it was nice to change it up.

We got in early and, as usual, Will napped. We had giant burgers for dinner at Gas Money Bar & Grill, and were shocked to watch Clemson lose to Syracuse that night.

Saturday was among the hottest OU-Texas weekends on record. It was misery.

So miserable I didn’t even stand in line for a fried snickers.

I KNOW!

Ya’ll, you know that means I was hot puddle of sweat.

Here I am forcing a smile while sweating profusely. haha

Since we’re on the subject of football, let’s just get it all out of the way.

I totally drank the Kool-aid and bought into the OU hype this year, for which I’m guilty.

Will knew better, as usual.

So when we watched them lose to Iowa State, in what they’ve deemed the worst loss in Sooner history, I kissed my high hopes goodbye.

Those guys…

Although, there have been some updates lately so maybe, just maybe we’ve still got a chance.

Pass the Kool-Aid…

Life things
Probably the biggest “life thing” since I last wrote is that Will started a new job this summer, and it’s been a huge blessing. It’s long days and hours, but thankfully weekends off.

I thought we were oldies before, but now we REALLY are! Many week nights we’re already in bed by 8:30!

It’s hard to reflect on everything right now, because it’s still fairly fresh, but I am thankful for the Lord’s faithfulness during this time.

When everything first unfolded with selling the business, I felt God was going to do something big and miraculous through it all. The truth is, nothing big really happened (though the circumstances surrounding how Will got hired and how it all worked out were definitely the hand of God).

I definitely know firsthand the Lord shows up in mighty ways, however sometimes His faithfulness seems less evident to our untrained eyes. The truth is, He sustained us and strengthened my faith in ways that never would have happened had I not gone through this trial. Perhaps that’s what’s “big.”

Anyway- there’s that. But wait! There’s more!

P gave birth to Gemma Grace (GG for short- how adorable, right!?) on October 12th.

What’s crazy is here’s a picture of me holding P, and now P has a daughter old enough to hold her baby sister nkw just like I did! WHERE IS THE TIME GOING!?

More fun stuff

Because we’re crazy football fans, we’ve had the September 2019 marked on our calendar forever. It’s when the Sooners play UCLA in the Rose Bowl, which naturally means we have to attend!

With so much time between our last major trip and then, we decided to take a small vacation in between. He threw out an old favorite, which I sort of dismissed quickly.

Will’s vacation policy isn’t as generous as we’d hoped, so we had a couple options- either take a trip at the end of the year, or wait until the summer. Will left the decision up to me, figuring I’d pick something next summer.

Which is what I started doing!

The truth is, though, I kind of felt lost planning a trip in July or August.

For one, I hate summer.

Two, it just didn’t feel right.

For our 13 years of marriage, we’ve always planned trips around fun football games, and for 13 years I’ve always ribbed Will about it.

Only, when it came down to it, I kind of couldn’t see us doing anything else!

(Did this guy wear me down or what!?!)

Stay tuned for more on that. I suppose it will be in my winter update! 😊

In no particular order...

- Guys- they are ending NBC’s The Middle after this season!! It’s hard to find family friendly comedies, and I have come to love the Heck family. WHAT THE HECK AM I SUPPOSED TO WATCH NOW!?! (Pun intended)

- Mason Jar Mania continues! If it can be made ahead and go in a jar, I’m basically going to make it for lunch these days. 😂

- Speaking of food, my mom, sister, and I had a Freezer Meal Crockpot Day a couple of weeks ago and it was so fun! We each picked a few recipes and brought enough to share, made them into easy to dump portioned recipes for the crockpot, and then each took home what we made. So smart! Convenient for P with the baby keeping her busy, too.

- Have you ever heard of a foot detox?

I’m always super skeptical about “detoxes” but Will heard all these interesting things about them and really wanted to give it a try.

So, he challenged me to a foot detox contest to see whose water was the best.

While technically you could say I won, I would argue there were definitely no winners here.

As you can see, the results were HORRIFYING! What’s fascinating is that there’s a color chart that helps you understand what the toxins mean, and they are shockingly accurate. Will’s water was dark brown and bubbly, attributable to poor diet 😂 and mine was mostly orangey which is tied to joint health and likely from intense workouts and lactic acid buildup. Check and check. I also had fatty triglyceride buildup. So crazy!!! 😳

All things Jude

I finished my James study at the end of September and plan to devote the rest of the year to Jude.

The book is essentially a single chapter of 25 verses, and while it’s short, I have no doubt it will take me the rest of the year to complete.

I suppose before I get into Jude, though, I ought to backup and share a little on James for posterity sake.

I never thought it would take me 9 months to get through the five chapter book of James.

I knew it would be full of rich content that would challenge me, but I completely underestimated how much it would flip my heart upside down as I examined what was within.

Every single passage full of a variety of elements that pricked my heart. Constantly convicting and humbling me.

While I didn’t realize it, I approached James with a degree of pride. I didn’t mean to have it, but I certainly did. It didn’t take long for the chair to be knocked out from under me! Chapter one started with a loving gut punch and things spiraled from there. Haha

I act as though I came out of James bloodied and miserable, but that’s not the case.

James was a study I so desperately needed in 2017. It challenged me in ways I expected, and in others I did not.

The Lord used it to strip away more of myself, though there’s still a lot of work to do!

I am so thankful the Lord led me to study James this year. I can look back and see how much I needed it!

At the start of the year I was eager to study Jude, too.

You ought to do a quick read of it today. It’s mind blowing how pertinent this book is today.

Just as urgently needed today as it was when Jude first wrote it.

I am excited to do a deeper dive into this book because I already feel a sense of urgency over so much of what he shares. I know it will strengthen me all the more to study it in-depth.

Wherein a put in a plug for my new “blog
And by blog I don’t mean blog.

I mean Instagram.

It’s pretty much the only place I consistently post these days.

I share various content, but mostly what’s going on in my life as well as spiritual devotional type things.

Each picture essentially comes with a mini blog post, if you will. 😊

While I’m not posting as regularly here, I am there, and would love to become Instagram friends. Haha

Let’s start with the MOHs stuff
I got my stitches out a few days after my last post.

I continue to heal. My nose is super red and will be for a few more months probably, but I’m thankful it’s all done and behind me.

Moral of the story? Wear sunscreen!

Chances are, lots of damage is already done from our younger years, and it’s all the more reason to take care of ourselves now!

I already see a couple more spots I’m going to have checked at my next appointment. 😳🙏🏻
Now for some fun and exciting stuff
P and her beau set a date and are getting hitched in November.

They went from planning a stressful and large soirée to a much quieter, simpler wedding. I love they went this route and will be honored to be among the small group of people they entrust with this sacred moment.

As a side note, how is my sister old enough to be married!?

I’m sure I’ll share all sorts of beautiful pictures, stories, and such in the coming months.

Oh and PS- Layla started preschool last week! I can’t believe she’s already old enough to be going to preschool! Not gonna lie, I got misty eyed.

Now onto the important stuff
All things college football.

Last Wednesday kicked off football season. It’s like an official holiday in our house.

We flipped back and forth between games soaking up every tackle, touchdown, and catch.

Our beloved Sooners took the field Saturday, and as usual, I nearly melted into a giant puddle from the intense heat.

We had a fairly mild August, but just my luck, temps went back to normal as football season started.

WHY DO YOU HATE ME!?

Nonetheless I’m excited about a new year and fresh start. I’m not picking us to take it all, or probably even win the big 12, but I think we’ll be much improved a serious contender.

My boot camp & a bible study

Guys, God has blessed me so much with this boot camp bible study thing. I can’t even take it!

I started out with just one person attending- ME.

Just a couple weeks later I was up to two, then three, with two more committed for our next session.

Considering we meet Saturday at the crack of dawn, I’m encouraged.

I gave it totally to God when I started in July and continue to let Him do whatever he desires.

Our workouts have been fantastic, the Christian playlists I’ve put together are ridiculous (in the best way possible), and our conversation has been blessed.

God is good! I sure wish you gals could join us.

A stroll down memory lane

For some strange reason, Will and I decided to stick in an old Frasier box set in while I was at home after surgery.

Here we are a month later and are already nearly halfway done with season 2.

It’s been fun and I felt I ought to remember it on her blog.
Other random things I feel you should know

We visited Will’s parents last weekend along with my BIL and SIL. It was fun. We went bowling and I broke my average 35ish range.

Serious stuff here, ya’ll.

(I’m BB- still the lowest score but far better than my usual)

As for other things, I did a mini balyage treatment on my hair last week. I wanted to go back to my natural color thinking it was going to be a fairly dark blonde.

Turns out I was completely wrong!

I’ve highlighted half my head for years and never really paid attention to the underneath color. It always looked dark to me because the highlights were always so light.

Anyway, turns out I’m naturally way blonder than I thought (an 8 on a scale of 10), which explains a lot.

Such as why, upon realizing we were out of dish tablets, I put a tablespoon of ivory dish soap in the dishwasher, hit start, and let it run the entire cycle.

Let’s just say there were bubbles everywhere.

Everywhere.

Or why I threw Lucy’s much needed medication in the trash not realizing there were still several days worth of medicine still in the packet.

Resulting in a dumpster dive situation.

Genius.

Things like that.

All.the.time.

So yeah, turns out I’m not blonder than I pay to be. I’m actually really that blonde. Ha!

Important Blog Stuff I Need to Unpack
On a more serious note, I’m kind of unsure what to do with this space, guys.

It’s old, dated, clunky and I have no idea how to fix any of it on my own.

Not only that, but I kind of feel like this space is slightly schizophrenic.

It’s worked well for a decade, housing all my silly stories and experiences as a 20 something newlywed. However, now I’m not so sure.

I feel the few of you who still visit should be able to count on some sort of structured content each day, which I feel I’ve done a great job of keeping up with over the last few years.

However I can’t help but feeling the Lord moving me in a different direction, which is one of the reasons I’ve been posting less frequently.

I feel there’s so much pressure for everyone to have some sort of online presence, or following, or persona.

I completely see the value of online media and have so enjoyed keeping up with my friends that way.

However in this current season of life I’m prompted to pull back more. To take the focus off myself and to put it on Jesus.

I’m struggling to find balance between posting what I had for lunch and sharing why I feel the Church needs to refocus our affections on our one true Love.

I’m struggling because this blog was created by me, for me, and doesn’t feel like it belongs to Him.

Sometimes it doesn’t feel right posting here anymore.

So I’ve been sitting quietly.

I’ve toyed with the idea of starting fresh and creating an entirely new space, but it feels daunting.

I’ve thought about paying for a makeover of the current space, but I’m not sold on that either for the above reasons.

So yeah, I have no idea what direction this little site is going.

I find it important to chronicle some of our goings on, as I’ve valued being able to capture memories over the years, but I’m not sure this space is the right space to cover heavy topics on my heart right now.

You’ve got my Wednesday workout right next to a post on eschatology. It seems a little incongruent.

Am I making sense?

It took me over 30 years but I finally get that this life is so much more and so much better when it’s surrendered to Christ.

That’s how our life should be, but somewhere between the garden of Eden and today we decided we could do things better on our own.

I don’t want to do things on my own anymore.

And He’s taking me up on the offer of my surrendered heart.

It’s glorious, but sometimes it hurts a little too.

But it’s worth it.

I want to share so much of it with you, but right now I’m taking a step back to see what exactly that looks like.

I had no intention of pouring this all before you, but since I’m on a roll I thought I better share.

I’m not breaking up with my blog, but I do think there will be some changes.

Perhaps I start a separate site with more frequent devotional type posts while still maintaining this old dinosaur for capturing updates and life stuff.

We shall see.

Until then, look for update type posts like this one (minus the whole giant book I wrote about the blog 😃) and devotional type posts.

When I found out she was going to be in Oklahoma I jumped at the chance to meet (because when is anyone ever in Oklahoma that doesn’t already live here!?).

We’ve been friends since The Nest days, so it was exciting to actually meet after all these years.

We had breakfast at Chick-Fil-A and talked for hours. It’s funny how natural conversation can come even from only knowing someone online. It was like we were old friends catching up, and I suppose that’s what we are!

Around the Corner
My big 32nd is right around the corner.

When did I get so old and grownup!?

Will’s parents came up to celebrate early and left me with a big, fat strawberry cake with vanilla frosting.

It’s made with fresh strawberries and diet sprite instead of oil and eggs (at my request. I’m the only person crazy enough to want that for their birthday cake) so it’s healthy, right?

I’ll be hanging out with Will and my parents this weekend, so more celebration to follow.

And by celebration, I mean unhealthy food. Ha!

In honor of 32...
I think we need a TBT pic today.

This one comes courtesy of my sweet 16.

Remember the days when we used to go to tanning beds religiously and not worry about skin cancer?

Good times (except not).

My parents threw me a surprise party. Such a kind act. Maybe I’ll tell you that story one day.

There’s always a story.

Couch-less Potatoes
Sooo, we bought a couple couches last year to replace the hand me downs my parents graciously gave us when we moved back from Kuwait.

Actually, we kept the love seat, but got rid of the couch.

It was kind of a sad day. Will and I spent a lot of quality (haha) time watching tv and napping on that couch, even before we got married!

I was a little sad to see it go.

The Littles were sad too. We don’t let them get on the leather furniture, but they had free reign on the old couches, so they were sad to see them gone, too!

So yeah. Kind of the end of an era.

Road Tripping
With all these trips with Will’s parents to check out RVs, I’m kind of read to be old enough to retire and explore the good old U S of A too!

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to fast forward life. However, I now totally get the appeal of buying a pull behind and seeing the nation.

Totally down for that in 2035.

Spring Cleaning
The office is done!

Now onto our bedroom closet.

It’s long overdue.

That’s our project for a few hours this weekend.

The fun of being an adult.

Fanning the Flames

I almost lost my mind last weekend at the gym.

I was the only one in the cardio section. I didn’t plan on washing my hair that day, so I didn’t want to completely sweat buckets.

As such, I turned on the fan and hopped on the elliptical.

Unspoken gym etiquette, at least at my gym, is that most people ask those already in the cardio room if they’d be agreeable to the fan being turned off.

Never just turning it off.

Ten minutes into my workout, a kid came into the room, turned off the fan, and started running on the treadmill right in front of me.

I almost lost my mind.

I usually don’t get bothered by that sort of thing… But I did that day!

“Do you want to blow dry all the sweat out of my hair since you decided to turn the fan off!?!!” I wanted to scream. ask kindly.

He was watching SpongeBob Squarepants, which only made me madder.

Which made me workout harder.

Which made me sweat all the more.

Which defeated the purpose of trying not to sweat too much.

Frustrating.

And yes, I did end up washing my hair.
***
That’s it for today, sweets! Check in tomorrow!

I’m still catching up on laundry from the weekend and seriously need to get groceries. I know my dear husband would love to use this week as an excuse to Monopoly it up at McDonalds, but I can’t let him clog his arteries every single day this week, you know?

Anyway, that’s all for today. Check in tomorrow for a workout playlist that will keep you upbeat long after your gym session.

Working full time and staying busy with other activities sometimes makes it hard to come up with lots of fun content.

At the same time, I love this little space and want to continue daily posts during the week.

Soooo it got me thinking.

I want to have good content and don’t want to feel rushed or pressured to come up with things just to make sure space is filled on a given day.

I started thinking about things I liked best about some of my favorite blogs, and it really came down to their transparency. Their openness to share a glimpse of their life.

Right now, I share recaps on Mondays, often something food related Tuesdays, workout stuff on Wednesdays, things I’m loving or random fun stuff on Thursdays, and then something scripture based on Fridays.

I like this content structure, but feel like it needs a little...tweaking.

Here’s where the blogging pros whip out a survey for you to complete on things you’d like to see, but let’s be real here, I’m not going to make all seven of you do that.

I would, however, totally welcome thoughts on what aspects make up your favorite blogs, as well as some things you would like to see more/less of.

Let her fly!

Leave a comment in the share the love section in this post, and I will be so very thankful for your input as I start to consider some changes.

In fact, the rest of this week I will be gently reminding you, so you’ve been warned.

Oh- and let’s not addressed the ancient feel of the blog just yet.

It was made in 2006 (!!!) and definitely needs to be revamped, but unfortunately that’s just not on the docket right now. Definitely down the road though.

Thank you in advance. I know you won’t let me down (insert guilt trip here

As a token of my appreciation, I wanted to share the laundry soap recipe below and tell you to DO.IT.

Seriously, it was the easiest 10 minutes ever, and this stuff should last until I'm 83.

I am so thankful for each any every one of you that reads and lurks on my blog.

I really am.

In fact, I even said a prayer for you guys today. I am just overjoyed by your presence here, whether I know you personally, you occasionally comment, or just read in passing.

I so wish we could all meet up for an afternoon over protein shakes (or coffee haha) and just talk and get to know one another.

I realize that’s a lofty endeavor, so instead I just want to take today’s post to tell you I’m grateful for this little blog and my own space.

When I first started this blog over on The Nest waaay back in 2005, I interacted with such a diverse and beautiful group of ladies from all over! It was nice back then, because I had a lot of time available and could read and comment on lots and lots of blogs. Those early years on the nest bring good memories of women, who would under any other circumstances be total strangers, encouraging and building one another up.

We were all newlyweds and this whole marriage stuff was something we were all navigating together. We shared in lots of laughs, tears, and the gamut of emotions in between. As we got older, had kids, some had breakups, and some moved, our tight knit circle sort of softened as they do sometimes. However, I have so enjoyed reading blogs from those of you who still post, and always will!

I suppose that’s one of the reasons I still like posting so much. It captures so much life that can get easily forgotten over the years.

This blog saw my first anniversary, and will be here for my tenth.

It’s survived a trip overseas for three years, and another one home.

It’s been through dogs, houses, babies, jobs, growing pains, master’s degrees, and even a long blog hiatus, but it’s always been here.

So I offer you all virtual birthday cupcakes (strawberry ones with pretty pink vanilla frosting, of course) and celebrate this one with you. Thanks for being there. Here’s to another nine.

Heading home today. Hope you all had a fantastic Thanksgiving weekend. I look forward to sharing mine with you soon! So so ready to be home and see my Will and doggies.
Just had to check in and say hello and I look forward to our chats this coming week!